Method of making curved fabrics



METHOD OF MAKING CURVED FABRICS Filed June 17. 192.2

@stent Get. 2l, i924. -l

'si erre v v ES A. BURTON', OF PROVIDENCE, ODE ISLAND, MSIGNOR T@ HOPE 'w i', COMPANY, OF PAWTUC, ODE ISD, A 'COOMTION 0F is :i

NG CUR FABRICS.

Application led June 17, 1922. hda1 No. 569,015.

To all whom 'it may cof/wem:

Be it known that I, Claims A. oR'roN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Providence, `in the county of Providence 5 and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Making Curved Fabrics; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the. invention, such as will enable' others skilled vin the art to which it vappertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to fabrics and more particularly to the manufacture of cloth in which threads or yarns of oney or both systems or series of which it is composed curve in the fiat. x

For some purposes it is desirable lto produce a woven fabric inwhich some, or all, or either or both systems of interlaced yarns or threads, curve 1n the plane of the fabric. Cloth having either the warp or filling extending in curved lines (when the cloth is in a flat state) are useful in making articles such Jas -folded collars, either of one or of more than one piece, since, in order to make a collar of goed fit, as is well known, it is necessary that the fold line becurvi1inear,- that is, when the collar is attened out. Vllt is apparent that a folding collar, made integral of'one piece of cloth, can be more readily folded on a curvilinear fold-line when one system of threads of the fabric of which it is made is similarly curved and f runs arallel to the fold-line;v also that a two piece cloth collar having the edges of the neck band and outer panel stitched together along the fold is better and more 40 easily made 1f the threads of one s stem run parallel to the fold than if bot or filling) cross thev fold line and have to be severed in cutting the pieces to the necessary curve. In order `that the outer anel of two piece, folded, or turn-over colars may set 0H from the neck band so that the tie will slip or render easily and not bind between the outer panel and the neck band, they are usually made with the outer panel a little longer than the inner panel and the edges are brought to the same length when stitched together, thus producing an plane of the fabric when laid systems or series of threads (the warp and weft;

odsetting of the outer panel from the neck band that adords room for the tief. In

manufacture one lpiece collars, the odset effect is produced by the greater length of,

v fabrics, woven on a curve, from which ,tov

portionf to the same number of cross threads.

Curved fabrics' of the described character are also useful in making'bands or belts, folded or unfolded, constructed to encircle a body of greater diameter at one t thereof than at another part encircle by the band, asfor example, in waist or other bands designed to surround tapering parts of the human body. v l

FabricatheV warp threads of which curve in the plane thereof, havebeen heretofore woven on narrow ware or webbing looms. Patent lto Morgan, Number 1,254,340, dated January 22,1918, discloses how webbn lor other narrow fabrics may be curve` in weaving. An ordinary webbing loom may be adapted to produce webbing with a curvllinear warp by equippin it with a set of conical take up rolls an a conical or inclined ide 'on the edge of the-brebeam for eac piece of webbing bein woven, "and also with an additional num er of warp beams in order to cause the warp yarns or threads that are woven into the fabric adjacent the convexed outer edge to feed faster than those that are woven into the fabric adjacent the concaved edge. -lln a l.webbing c loom operating, say twenty to thirty shut` tles, the ex ense of installation of the necess sary additlonal warp beams, conical feed rollers and special guides, greatly the loom cost as compared wlth t bing. Furthermore, the stretching to which a largp'proportion of the warp threads must increases e original cost of looms fitted to weave straight webbe su 'jected in order to be properly woven into a curved fabric results in more frequent breakage of these threads and more frequent stoppage of the loom, in order to tie in the broken war ends, than is the case when .veaving straig t webbing with equal feedA 'of war threads. The cost of production of web ing curved in the weaving process, it willbe apparent, is much higher than the cost of straight warp webbing of the ico 1 of arn.

y my invention li am able to produce woven strips curved in the plane of the fabric, or of different widths in different portions, on either narrow Ware or broad cloth looms, by weaving them with straight filling and uniformly fed warp, and thereafter imparting a desired curvature or other predetermined modification of form by the usual washing, bleaching, dyeing or like tinishing operations. And the` invention consists: of a fabric having adjacent areas or zones possessing relatively different shrinkage capacities; of a method of producing fabrics curved4 in the plane thereof which consists in weaving a fabric with substantially equal feed of warp and straight intersecting filling, adjacent areas or zones of the fabric having different relative shrinking capacities, then uniformly moistening the fabric, thereby causing the different zones to shrink unequally. .It further consists in the combination of structural d etails and specific combination of steps described and claimed hereinafter.

lln practicing this invention no process additional to the finishing operations to Awhich woven ,fabrics are usually subjected is necessary, because the customary bleaching, dyeing, washing orshrinking treat-ment imparts a new form to cloth made in accordance with the invention. For example, cotton fabrics woven of the natural cotton yarn, when delivered from the loom are of a creamy shade and may be slightly soiled in the process of manufacture, and it is customary to treat these goods with bleaching liquids if white cloth is required. The usual bleaching and finishing operation imparts the de ree of re-formation which' the fabric has een particularly designed -to -have by reason of the different structure of the thread systems in diHerent areas, or the different kinds of fiber, or both.

lln the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention diagrammatically:

Figure 1 isa plan view of a piece of straight woven webbing .having adjacent longitudinal areas or zones one of which has the capacity of shrinking or contracting longitudinally more than the other after uniform moistening;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same piece of webbing after having been moistened, as in the bleaching operation;

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic cross section assumed to have been taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l;

Figure 4 represents, in full lines, a piece of straight webbing having three longitudinal areas or zones of different shrinkage capacit and in dottedlines the same piece of web ing after havin been bleached or otherwise moistened; an

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic cross section assumed to have been taken 0n the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

The diagrammatic illustrations are merely exemplary of fabric structures embodying this invention. Different relative shrinkage capacites,-tl1at is, capability of contracting, when moistened, different percentages,-may be imparted to adjacent longitudinal areas or zones by many different expedients without departing from the principle of this invention. The weft or filling of the fabric illustrated is of the same count (size) and has the same number of picks to the inch throughout a given web. But, variations are shown in the warp, whereby to provide known and definitely controllable differences of percentage of shrinkage in the direction of the warp in different longitudinal areas, Zones or panels. The relative shrinkage capacities of the Warp yarns may be varied progressively from one selvage edge to the other, or they may be varied progressively in groups, zones or'bands; and, furthermore, the radius of curvature imparted to the fabric after moistening or bleaching may be predetermined With accuracy. It is not practicable to illustrate all of the expedients by which different relative shrinkage capacities may be imparted to different longitudinal areas. Different degrees of capacity to contract may be imparted to adjacent Zones by using fiber of different kinds for the warp threads of the different Zones; or by variations in the warp structure; or both. Warp structure may be varied in many ways to achieve the desired result; the warp threads of one zone may be of a different count than `those of another; they may be composed of multiply strands tw`stedtogether with a different number of turns to the inch, or one Zone may be provided with straight stuffing warp threads that are absent in another zone or are more numerous in one zone than in another, or other differences of structure may be introduced in different areas to produce the desired effect. Similar variations in the filling threads may be utilized to produce cloth susceptible of assuming a precalculated non-rectangular outline, and combinations of both warp and filling, varied as described, may be adopted for the purpose of producing cloth and cloth articles of predetermined form, as will be apprehendedvby persons skilled in textile arts. t is to be understood, therefore, that the invention is not dependent upon any particular means whereby one area or Zone of cloth is caused to shrink a greater or less percentage than another.

In Fig. 1 is conventionally illustrated a piece of unbleached, straight woven webbing, said webbing having two panels, 1 and 2, joined by a narrow zone 3, along which v iiaaee the fabric is capable of folding more, easily than elsewhere, and in which panels 1 and 2 are so constructed that if the webbin is immersed in water, or any usual bleac ing or dyeing liquid, it will assume, after drying the form indicated conventionally in Fig. 2. Panels 1 and 2 and the fold zone 3 (of Fig. 1) have assumed a distinct curvilinear form, as indicated at 1, 2a and 3, (Fig. 2), the warp of the inner anel 1 having contracted more than that o the outer panel 2, thus causing the narrow fabric to bend, and the straight-fold zone3 havingassumed a curvilinear course corresponding to that of the panels. I P

lin Fig. 3, which is a conventional cross l section on the line 3 3 oi F/ig. 1 there is Iillustrated lone varying warp construction which/adapts the straight fabric indicated in Fig. 1 to be converted by shrinking into the curved abricindicated in Fig. 2. For' purposes of exempliication a two plyfinterwoven fabric suita le for use in making folded collars is shown.- rlhe warp ends of the face ply in the panel 2, 2a andin the fold zone 3, 3, are indicated by 4 and the-filling by 5. The war ends of the back ply ot panel 2, 2 and t e fold zone 3, 3X are indicated by 4. and the filling of the said back.y

ply by 5. Between the tace andthe back piles of the panel 2, 2B and of the fold zone 3, 3, are straight stung warp threads 6, which may be, as shown in Fig. 3, e ual -in number to the warp threads of the ace or back plies. The stung threads 6 are not interlaced in the fabric, but lie straight between the two plies. At intervals are binder threads 7 which tie the front and back plies firmly to ether and hold the stung warp clamped between them. The panel 1, 1 is shown as comprising two plies bound together by binder threads, buty devoid of stuitlng warp, the warp of 1,1 being indicated by 14 and the warp of the back ply by 14. The same filling 5, 5a is woven in the panel 1, l, asin the panel 2, 2a and the fold-zone ,3, 3a. lt will be apparent that a similar result, diering only in degree may be loduced by inserting relatively fewer stu g warp threads in panel 1 than in panel 2.

`webbing of a weave conventionally illustrated in Fig. 3, when uniformly moistened and dried, assumes 'a curvilinear form, as

`panel 2 will restrain t indicated in Fig. 2, for the reason that panel.

1, it woven of yarn having the same percentage of shrinkage as panel 2, willshrink more than panel 2 by reason of the fact that the straight stung war threads present in e shrinking of panel 2. ln .explanation it may yarn of greater length will shrink a greater absolute amount than yarn of lesserlength although the percentage of shrinkage capacity may be thesame both. The stung .which the interlaced threads in *length of fabric are susceptible.

the -face ply in panel warp threads in the illustrated fabric are straight and much shorter than the interlaced warp and binder threads. amount of .shrinkage, therefore, of which the stuffing threads in a given length of fabric are susceptible is much less than that of the same The stuffing warp being clamped firmly by the binder threads between the two plies in panel 2 prevent the shrinkage of panel 2 to the same extent as panell, which is devoid of stutl'- ling warp. and is composed entirely of interlaced and crimped threads free to shrink without such restraint.

lf the warp threads in the panel 1 were of the same count' as the face and back warp. of the panel 2, the weight. of the fabric inV anel 1 would be less to the square inch than 1n panel 2. Should it be dpsired to have the fabric of the same weight to .the square' inch throughout, the loss of weight due to omissionor reduction in number f stuffing warp threads may be compensated for by the use of coarser and heavier warp thread; for example, cotton yarn and the'warp in panel 1 may be 40/2 `cotton yarn,-that is to say, the warp in panel 2 may be sixty count cotton yarn composed of two strands twisted, together, and the warp of panel 1 may be forty count cotr ton yarnl com osed of two intertwisted strands. The both panels for the sake of uniformity of appearance and sim licityof weave'. The appearance of the abrio constructed as indicated in Fi 3 will be the same throughout, since the ing is the same and the diiierence 1n size of warp threads in the two panels is not noticeable..

`(Phe fabric conventionally shownin Figs. 1 to 3 will be understood to exemplify one means byv which the desired result may be achieved. A like result `may be ,achieved l110 by other expedients l's o'me of which have heretofore been mentioned.

ln Fig. 4 there is illustrated in lfull lines a piece of stralght ,woven webbing (which -2 cotton yarn of eighty picks to the inch in each lyand all warp yarns, including the st g warp and the binder, may be of the same count, material and structure as the filling. The dierence in relative lling should be the same in The act ual theI warp in panel 2 may be 60/2 lof the same type and quality of yarn throughout, for example, the filling may be be stated that than that of production of straight fabric,

shrinkage capacity of the dierent zones may be effected by varying progressively the number of stuiing warp threads to the inch, while providing the same number of face and back warp threads to the inch throughout. For example, zone w may have eighty stung warp ends to the inch, zone b 7 may have sixty and zone c may have forty. Thus, after moisteningand drying,` shrinkage of zone c is restrained by fewer straight stung'warp threads than zone b, and the shrinkage of zone b is restrained by fewer straight stuffing warp threads than zone 0:; and, as a consequence, zone c willshrink more than zone 6, and zone b more than zone a, thus imparting the curvature indicated. It will be obvious that the radius of curvature to be obtained may be varied by varying the number of stung warp yarns in the several zones or by omitting them from the zone to e shrunk the most. n lt will be apparent to those skilled in the art of cloth finishing and familiar with the properties of textile fibers that the principles of this invention may be applied in many other ways than those illustrated and' `specifically described.

Utilization of lfabric having diEerent shrinkage capacities in di'ere'ntparallel areas or zones, when it is desired to produce a fabric curved in the direction of one system of interlaced threads, enables a fabric so curved to be obtainedv at a cost no higher since the curvature may be imparted in the shrinking, bleaching or dyeing process to which fabrics are vcommonly subjected before use. In the manufacture of collars it is assumed that the. collars may be die-cut from the fabric shown in Fig. 2, the neck band being cut from panel Pand the outer fold portion from the panel 2a, so that the collar may fold alon zone 3B. lf two piece collars are desired t e neck band and the fold portion may be separately cut from narrow webbing such as is indicated in Fig. 4, the convex selvage edgeV of one piece lapped over the concave xedge of the other and the two parts stitched together, the overlapping portion of the neck band p0rtion constituting a fold guide, along which thecollar may be folded. Q

The principle of making fabric adapted to be curvedl by different` longitudinal shrinking of adjacent areas in the bleaching and nishing operation may be carried out in the manufacture of broad cloth as well as in the manufacture 'of narrow ware and webbing. Broad cloth may be woven on a fly shuttle loom 'in a plurality of connected bands or relatively narrow areas, of the character exemplified in Fig. 1, orgin Fig. 4, and the lines of demarkation between them indicated by any suitable expedient such as aereas@ by inserting a colored warp thread between them or omitting one or several warp threads. The broad fabric may then be cut along, the demarkation vline and the bands or strips thus severed treated at the bleachery.

vBesides the economies referred to in producing curved fabrics by this method, there is a distinct advantage 1n handling straight fabric at the bleachery as compared with the handling of curved fabric, for the reason that the straight fabric is better adapted to be wound on a roll or spool and to feed therefrom( As has been pointed out, the fabric is straight woven.' lln all weaving operations, the yarns are customarily and necessarily, under the present state of the weaving art, set in the looms under considerable tension,V and this tension necessarily tends to stretch the yarns. When-thetension is removed, there is necessarily a counter-action of contraction. When the fabric is of substantially the same construct-ion throughout, the shrinkage or contraction lin the fabric after it has been taken from the loom is substantially the same throughout the fabric which therefore remains substantially straight as it was woven.v When, however, the fabric is made in accordance with the present invention, that is to say of varying construction in adjacent panels, the natural or normal contraction ofthe fabric after it has been taken from the loom is` such as to impart a slightly curvilinear effectto the fabric. This curvilinear eect is not very pronounced in a short section of fabric but is readily discernible in a long piece and is an advantage rather than a disadvantage inasmuch as the direction" `of subsequent 'curvature of the fabricl is readily perceived.

rllhe principle of this invention is applicable to single ply fabric, as well "as to multiply interwoven fabrics, although in the case of single ply fabrics, stuffing yarn cannot be used in the manner described with reference to multiply fabrics. But it will be apparent that different relative shrinking capacities may be given to different areas. by usng yarns or threads of dierent twist, or of different materials, 'or of did'erent counts or other combinations for the purose. -pfWhat ll claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. Fabric having straight areas extending lengthwise thereof composed .of unshrunken threads, one of which areas has the capacity of shrinkin a dierent percentage than another where y, when moistened, curvature will be imparted to the fabric.

2. l/Voven fabric having straight area-s extending lengthwise thereof composed of unshrunken threads, one of which areas has the capacity ofshrinking a dierent percentage than another in the direction of the threads of that system that are parallel to the threads of the samey system in the otherr whereby, when the fabric is moistened, curvature will be imparted to the fabric.

. 3. Woven fabric having straight adjacent areas extending vlengthwise thereof composed of unshrunken threads, the warp threads in one of'which areas are substantially parallel with the warp threads of another, one of said areas having the capacity of shrinking a different percentage than another in the'direction of thev warp when moistened whereby curvature will be imparted to the fabric.

4. Woven fabric having adjacent areas extending lengthwise thereof composed of unshrunken threads `of different shrinking capacity, that system of threads in one area which is parallel to the corresponding system in the other having a difference of structure such as to impart tofone area the capacity of shrinking in the direction of the threads of said system a greater percentage than the other when moistened whereby curvature will be imparted to the fabric. j

5. Multiply woven fabric having adjacent areas, one of which has the capacity of shrinking ay different percentage than another, one system of threads 1n one area having a different structure than the corresponding parallel system of threads 'in another in that the said system of one area includes straight threads tending to restrain the shrinkage thereof as compared with another.

6. The method of producing fabric which consists in forming a straight woven fabric with adjacent areas composed of unshrunken threads, one area having the capacity' of shrinking a different percenta e than another, then moistening said fa ric, equally thereby causing one area to shrink a greater percentage than another.

'.7. The method of producin fabric which consists in weaving a straig t web of unshrunken threads 1n such manner that adjacent areas have the capacity of shrinking thereby causing one area to shrink a greater percentage than another whereby the fabric will assume a curved form.

8. The method of producing fabric which consists in weaving a straight web of unshrunken threads with adjacent areas having substantially parallel warp threads, one of said areas having the capacity of shrinking a greater percentage than another in the direction of the warp, then moistening said areas equally, thereby causing one area to shrink a greater percentage than another whereby the fabric will assume a curved form. I,

9. The method of producing fabric, which consists in weaving a straight web of unshrunken threads with adjacent areas having inherently different shrinkage capacities, that system of threads in one area, which is parallel to the corresponding system'in another, having a different structure such as to impart to one area the capacityv of shrinking in the direction of the threads of said system a greater percentage than the other, then moistening said areas equally thereby causing one area to shrink a greater percentage than the other whereby the fabric will assume a curved form.

10. The method of producing a strip of multiply fabric curved in the plane thereof, which consists in weaving a web wlth adjacent zones extending longitudinally of one system of threads, said system 1n one zone havinga different structure than in lanother in 'that said system in one zone includes straight stuing threads tending to restrain the shrinkage of that zone as compared wlth another, then moistening said zones equally,

lthereby causing one zone to shrink a greater percentage thananother.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CHARLES A. Hon'roN. 

